Weft-replenishing loom



my 22,I 1924. 1,502,319

' W. H. RANKIN ET AL v WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed Sept. 2l. 1920 2Sheets-Sheet l July 22 1924. 502,319

w. H. RANKIN ET AL WBFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed Sent. 2l. 1920 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented duly 22, 1.924.

UNITED STATES Moana PATENT orties.

WILLIAM H. RANKIN, or WALTHAM, AND HENRY n. MARSH, oscANffoN, MAssA-cHUsnTrs, AssIGNoRs To RANDOLPH cnoMPToN, orwoaossrmt, MASSACHUSETTS.

WEET-REPLENISHING LOOM.

Application filed september 21,1920. serial No. lingrat.

T o all whom t may concern Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. RAN- KIN, a.citizen of the United States, residing at- Waltham, in the county ofMiddlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and HEN- RY R. MARSH, acitizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county ofNorfolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in VVeft-Replenishing Looms, of which the following,together with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Our invention relates to that class of looms employing shifting shuttleboxes containing shuttles having filling differing in color and materialand also employing a fillingfeeder or magazine with fillingcarriershaving fill- Ing corresponding to the filling used in thedifferent shuttles contained in the shifting shuttle box. Y

Various control devices have heretofore been employed for coordinatingthe shifting movement of the shuttle boxes with the mechanismcontrolling the movement of the magazines, so that filling carriershaving the proper kind of filling will be transferred from the magazineto the active shuttle. Such prior devices have usually operated to movethe magazine upon the substantial exhaustion of the filling in theactive shuttle and have employed various more or less complicatedmechanisms in order to obtain the desired results. y

By our invention we propose to provide a loom of the above describedtype with an improved type of control device, whereby the magazinecontaining the filling carriers will always be turned in the samedirection upon the occurrence of each shifting movement of the shuttlebox, irrespective of the amount of filling in the active shuttle. Inthis way a filling carrier with the proper kind of filling is always inplace to be transferred to the shuttle upon the ejection of a fillingcarrier from the shuttle carrying a given kind of filling. Our device isextremely simple in construction and positive in its operation, so thatthere is no possibility of the wrong kind of filling being transferredto the shuttle. vThese and other advantageous features of our inventionwill hereinafter more fully appear, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of aweft replenishing loom embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the loom shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views showing our improved form of magazine.

' Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in thedifferentfigures.

Referring to Fig. 1, the loom comprises a frame 1 carrying a crank shaft2 and a cam shafty 3 connected to each other by gearing 4, in the usualmanner. A. lay 5 is connected to the crank shaft 2 by connecting rods 6and is provided with a pair of movable shuttle boxes 7 and ``8. Theshuttle boxes 7 and 8'are attached to a shifting rod 9 that is connectedby linkage 10 to one arm of a shifting lever 11. The vleverv 11 ispivotally mounted on a rocker shaft 12 and its other arm is connected toa shaft 13 by means of a crank 14 and link 15, so that 4rotation of theshaft 13 will impart an oscillating movement to the lever 11.

A11 intermittent gear 16 is mounted on the shaft 13 and is provided witha plurality of sets of teeth 17 and 18, each series being separated fromeach other by a space. A pair of oppositely disposed sliding dogs 19 and20 are arranged to be alternately moved into the spaces between thetecth 17 and 18 by means of a shifting arm 21. The arm 21 is connectedto a control lever by means of a rod 23, so that movement of the lever21 in either direction of rotation about its pivotal point 24 will causeone of the dogs 19 and 2O to be moved into the space between the teethof the gear 16. The lever 22- is adapted to ride upon a chain 25 carriedon a sprocket wheel 26. rIhe wheel 26 is mounted on a shaft 27 that isso connected to the driving mechanism of the loom that the wheel 26 isturned through the pitch of one tooth for each beat of the lay 5. Aplurality of rolls 28 are arranged in series on the link pins 29 of the4chain 25, so that the lever 22 will be raised from the position shownwhen a series of rolls 28 pass thereunder. When the lever 22 is in itslowest position, in contact with only the link pins 29 of the chain 25,-the dog 19 is in the space between the teeth of the gear 16, so that itwill be engaged by the teeth 30 of a disk 31 mounted on the cam shaft 3.The gear 16 will then be turned until the teeth 30 engage the teeth 18,whereby the shaft 13 is turned until the teeth 18 are disen aged fromthe teeth 30. This movement wi l cause the lever 11 to be moved= intothe position shown` inv dotted lines, thereby raising the shuttlebox 7into the position formerly occupied by the shuttle box 8.

TheV shuttlej box 7 will remain' in thisA position until the lever 22is'raised by en'- gagementy with the first roll 28 of a givenv Y series.

Lifting of the lever 22 will cause the dog to be moved jinto the path ofthe gear teeth 30 and the resulting movement of l shaftl 13 'will causethe shuttle boxes to be lowered. lt is obvious that the shuttle boxeswill remain in either1` of the positions just described fora period oftmevdeter-V mined by the number series Vof the chain 25. Thus, if thereare three rolls 28 in'each series,fthe shuttlecontained in the shuttlebox 8y will be acted upon by the picker stick 32 for threesuc.- cessivebeats of the lay 5, befo-re theshuttle box 7 is moved into itsoperative; position. The shuttle inthe shuttle box 7 will then be actedupon by the picker stick for. aznumber of beats corresponding'V tothenumber of link pins.- 29 Ibetweenrthe rolls r 28. "All, of

- the parts describedithusfa/r form-no' part of our present invention,but are usual-in loomsy of the .class described, in which it: is desiredto use shuttles containing filling carriers with different colorsv orkind of material. It is therefore not believednec-i essary to furtherdescribe the operation thereof.

The lever 22 is also connectedto one arm L -34 of a bell crank lever 35by means of a member 43 `that-is also pivotally mounted at 44 upon anextension 45 ofthe slide 41.`

rlhe rack'members 39 and 43 are respec! tively provided with teeth thatare. adapted Vto engage the teeth of a spur gear 46; 1Wit-h the parts inthe position shown, the teeth of the rack member 43 are in engagementwith the spur gear 46, but when the lever'22 is raised by the rolls 28,the turning of the bell crank lever 35 moves both rack memu bers totheright. about their pivots' and causes the. teeth of the rack member 39to engage thegear 46. Y Y

The slide41 is provided with a bifurcated projection 47, the arms ofwhichembrace a'pin48 carriedat the end. of the lever. 11 beyond itspoint of attachment to the link:- age 10. A spring 49 serves to. holdthe slide: 41 and the lever v11 in their lower positions, as shown..When the lever 11 isturned about its pivot 12 by the turning of the frolls y 28 in eachV shaft13 aspreviously described, the slide 41 ismoved upwardly, thereby Vcausing the Apinion 46 to be turned by the rack43. VVhen,

however, the shuttle boxes 7 and 8 are shifted byj the next movementvof` the 'lever 22, the lever 22`also shifts the rack members 39. and43to the rightto cause engagement of the'rack member 39 with the pinion,46.KV

to. its engagement first/by one rack member and 'then by the other. j.

he pinion 46V is continuously in mesh with a spur* gear 50 thatismountedon a shaft 51: extending beneath the breastbeam 52 of the loom.Referring now to Eig.l 2, the shaft 51 isfprovided at itsrother: endwith a pinion 53 thatis connected by gear-V ing 54-to a magazine 55. Themagazinep55 comprises an end .ring'56 :that isV provided von its outerperiphery with-@aA plurality of gear teeth 57 in' mesh withrthe gearing54. The end ring 56 of the magazine isrrotatably supported upon a hub 58having. a plurality of radial armss59 respectively pro-Y videdwithlnotches 60 forreceivin'g an annular projection V61 formed on the innerperiphery of the; ring 56.' The hub .58 is rigidly mounted on a shaft62.carried"by a bracket 63 extending'upwardly.. from the breast beam52.The end ring 56 also serves to support Vthe butt ends cfa' plurality oflling carriers 64, Ythe small ends of which are supportedtbyia'plate 65.Thefplate 65 is carried by a hub 66 rotatably mounted on the shaft 62.*Y

From the foregoing itisapparent that the magazine 55 is'adapted' tobeturnedby the shaft 51 each time that the rack slide 41 is moved by thelever11and that this turning move-ment will always be in the samedirection of rotation, owing Yto the shifting rack members 39 and43.lItis also apparent that the magazine`55 will be turned through apredetermined angle each time that the shuttle boxes 7 and 8 are'shifted from one position to another, orl in other words, each time thatthe .color Ior lmaterial of the lling is'changed. Therefore, if-thefilling carriers 64 inthe magazinev be` ar;- ranged alternately withrespect to the nature of the lling thereon, it is apparent thatfthefillingy inserted inthe active* shuttlewill alwaysbe the proper kind,for the magazine Y Vshuttle'boxesfare shifted, irrespective of thedegree of exhaustion of filling in the shuttle.

In this way the operation of the device is made independent of anycomplicated filling detecting mechanisms, for the magazine is turnedthrough a predetermined angle, always in the same direction of rotation,each time that the shuttle boxes are shifted.

Other advantages of our invention lie in the particular construction ofthe magazine, which is eXtreme-ly simple in construction. The supporto'f the end ring 56 by the arms 59 eliminates the heavy hub which hasalways heretofore formed a part of the magazine. This constructionadapts itself readily to the use of external gear teeth on the ring,

' which are directly engaged by the gearing from the shaft 51, thuseliminating the various devices which have heretofore been employed inconnection with the central hub of the magazine for rotating the same.It is apparent that our improved construction of the magazinesubstantially reduces the weight of the same and particularly adapts itfor the positive gear drive which we employ for rotating the magazine.

I/Vhile we have shown our invention as applied to a weft replenishingloom employing shuttle bon shifting means of a particular type, it isnot so limited, but may be as well employed in connection with looms ofthe same type but diiiering therefrom in detail construction. We desiretherefore that only such limitations be imposed thereon as come withinthe scope of the appended claims.

Ve claim:

l. In a loom, the combination with a lay provided with shiftingshuttle-boxes, a set of shuttles having filling-carriers with differentkinds of filling, and a lling-feeder holding a plurality offilling-carriers with different kinds of filling, of means dependentupon each shifting of said shuttle boxes for turning said filling-feedersuccessively in the same direction of rotation, whereby the said feederis always in position for the transfer therefrom of a filling-carrierhaving filling corresponding with that in the active shuttle.

2. In a loom, the combination with a lay provided with shiftingshuttle-boxes, a set of shuttles having filling-carriers with differentkinds of filling, and a lling-feeder holding a plurality offilling-carriers with different kinds of lling, of means for turningsaid filling-feeder through a predetermined angle every time theshuttle-boxes are shifted, the said turning movement always being in thesame direction of rotation.

3. In a loom, the combination with a lay provided with shiftingshuttle-boxes, a set of shuttles having filling-carriers with twodifferent kinds of filling, a filling-feeder ho-lding a plurality offilling-carriers with two different kinds of, alternately arranged,filling, of means dependent upon each shifting of said shuttle-boxes forimparting a step-` by-step turning movement to said feeder in the samedirection of rotation.

4. In a loom, the combination with a lay provided with shiftingshuttle-boxes, a set of shuttles having filling-carriers with twodifferent kinds of filling, a iillingfeeder holding a plurality offilling-carriers with two different kinds of filling, alternatelyarranged, of means dependent upon each shifting of said shuttle-boxesfor imparting a step-by-step turning movement to said feeder in thesamedirection of rotation, whereby the saidk feeder is always in positionfor the transfer therefrom of a filling-carrier having fillingcorresponding with that in the active shuttle.

5. In a loom, the combination with a breast beam, a lay provided withshiftable shuttleboXes at one end of the breast beam, means for shiftingsaid shuttle-boxes and a rotatable lling-feeder at the other end of saidbreast beam, of means for turning the said feeder through apredetermined angle upon each operation of the shuttle-box shiftingmeans, the said turning movement being always in the same direction ofrotation.

6. In a loom, the combination with a breast beam, a lay provided withshiftable shuttleboXes at one end of the breast beam, means for shiftingsaid shuttle-boxes and a rotatable lling-feeder at the other end of saidbreast beam, of a shaft extending longitudinally across the breast beamand connected by gearing to said feeder, and means actuated on eachoperation of said shuttlebox shifting means for imparting anintermittent turning movement to said shaft always in the same directionof rotation.

7. In a loom, the combination with a breast beam, a lay provided withshiftable shuttleboXes at one end of the breast beam, means for shiftingsaid shuttle-boxes and a rotatable filling-feeder at the other end ofsaid breast beam, of a shaft extending longitudinally across the breastbeam and connected by gearing to said feeder, and a racking deviceactuated on each operation of said shuttle-box shifting means forturning said shaft always in the same direction yof rotation.

8. In a loom, the combination with a breast beam, a lay provided withshiftable shuttleboXes at one end of the breast beam, means for shiftingsaid shuttle-boxes and a rotatable lling-feeder at the other end of saidbreast beam, of a shaft extending across said breast beam and connectedat its ends to said feeder and to a shiftable racking device actuated oneach operation of said shut tle boX shifting means to turn said shaftalways in the same direction of rotation.

' 9. In a loom, the combination with a breast beam, a lay provided withshiftable shuttle- "i boxes ety one end 'of the breest-oeam, means foryshifting said Shuttlefbexee,amelV e rotatable filling-feedery at theother end of said breast beam, of a lshaft'extending across 5 saidbreast beam and Connected at-'one end to said feeder, :L rack deviceCooperating with the otherend of said shaft for turning the same uponeachoperatior; of Said shuttleboX" shifting means, and "means forshifting seid ,raoki device for:V causing v the rotational movement ofsaid shaftto always be inthe same direction.

Dated thseeventeenth day of September,

YVILLIAM H. RANKIN. HENRY R. MARSH.

